Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Kirby Co. (NYSE:KEX - Free Report) by 89.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,182 shares of the shipping company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,643 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Kirby were worth $1,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 142,265 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $17,418,000 after acquiring an additional 30,713 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Kirby by 2.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,683 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Kirby by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 35,353 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $4,328,000 after buying an additional 7,629 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 48,693 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $5,961,000 after buying an additional 16,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Kirby by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 382,835 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $40,504,000 after buying an additional 202,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.15% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Kirby from $136.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Kirby from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kirby has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $124.40.

Kirby Stock Performance

Shares of KEX stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.68. The company had a trading volume of 530,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 754,955. Kirby Co. has a 52-week low of $83.24 and a 52-week high of $132.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $110.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.43. The stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.19.

Kirby (NYSE:KEX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The shipping company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.01). Kirby had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 8.78%. Research analysts anticipate that Kirby Co. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kirby

In other Kirby news, VP Ronald A. Dragg sold 2,313 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.30, for a total value of $294,444.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,045.90. This trade represents a 23.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Christian G. O'neil sold 15,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $1,955,330.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 7,746 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,980. The trade was a 66.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,354 shares of company stock worth $3,275,455 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Kirby Company Profile

Kirby Corporation operates domestic tank barges in the United States. Its Marine Transportation segment provides marine transportation service and towing vessel transporting bulk liquid product, as well as operates tank barge throughout the Mississippi River System, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, coastwise along three United States coasts, and in Alaska and Hawaii.